Jeff,
That all sounds reasonable to me. I guess I was a little thrown off when you said that you had never seen a steel frame break, because I thought you were suggesting that steel farme failures are rare. I also thought you were suggesting that there was no reason to use a bike like an EVXL4 when there were old ADs in the world. I couldn't agree with that, but you wern't saying that and I do agree that a lot of people are on less than ideal bikes these days, and that those bikes are gernerally too racy.
FWIW, the closest thing I have to a new bike is newish 9-speed DA parts on an 80's lugged steel frame. I like it.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, Pennsylvania USA
jeff-arg@bizwi.rr.com wrote: Gees, guys. I didn't mean to start an old vs. new pissing match. Tom, I wasn't suggesting I would ride my Austro Daimler, or any other steel frame bike competitively. I do some triathalons and other competitive cycling events in the summer, and actually ride a modern carbon-framed Bianchi (with carbon Zipp wheels) for such occasions. I very much appreciate the modern light components when it comes to competitive cycling.
My only reason for bringing up "the best of both worlds" is to illustrate how easy it is to fit a vintage steel or KOF frame with modern shifting and brakes, if one so desires. I also wanted to give testimony to the fact that such a bike makes for a very nice (and comfortable) commuter. The advantages of a wider range of gearing, instant shifting that allows for a more constant cadence, safe brakes, and the sweetness of a lugged steel frame, make for a really nice combination.
Of course I have many (too many) vintage bikes with original friction shifting Campy, Shimano, and Zeus components. These again serve a different purpose.
I see very few, other than Waterford, steel framesets being sold in our local market. If a person wants to buy a good quality frame, or entire bike, for general riding and not racing, you are pretty much stuck going to lemondbontrekshimontrager, Inc. and getting the latest fashion in varying combinations of carbon and aluminum.
The highest level of racing components have trickled down to the average to above average quality bike, eg. last years Chorus is this years Centaur. No longer is an aluminum frame, or aluminum with carbon stays acceptable. All-carbon is what the buying public wants. I'm not talking about racers. I'm talking about middle-age plodders. The practical result is that bikes bread for racing are being used as every day machines by non-racers. Thus the broken frames, broken components, etc., etc.
I am aware of one local, non-competitive rider, that was seriously injured and nearly killed, by a "stupid light" set of handlebars that broke off in the rider's hand. The manufacturer was/is the subject of a personal injury law suit as a result of this matter.
Given the demographics of the baby boom, and the style of every-day riding most of us do, a vintage steel or KOF frameset fitted with modern gears and brakes, is a very nice alternative to what's mass-produced in the bicycling marketplace today. Ask people like Bayliss, Sachs, White, and others who build KOF framesets what there backlog looks like, and you will have proof. By the way, those frames won't be "out of style" or "obsolete" in a year or two, and will probably be worth the same or more than they cost when new.
Jeff Pyzyk Milwaukee, WI
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